Only the Democratic Party could pull this off. A candidate who quit her own race weeks before Election Day just won a Fort Worth-area state House seat, and now everyone is scrambling to figure out if she can legally set foot in the Texas Capitol.
Ericka Lomick suspended her campaign for Texas House District 93 less than a month before voting began, citing unspecified “questions” about her ability to serve. A political action committee had alleged in mid-September that Lomick has a felony record. Her name stayed on the ballot anyway, because that is apparently how things work, and she beat Republican Alan Blaylock, a former Fort Worth City Council member, with 51% of the vote in both the general election and a same-day special election to finish out the remaining term of former state Rep. Nate Schatzline, who left to become a senior adviser for Gov. Greg Abbott.
Federal court records out of North Carolina, Ericka Lomick felony conviction records analyzed by the Star-Telegram, indicate that an Ericka Lomick was convicted in 2011 of mortgage fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of a plea deal. Court records show she was sentenced to 63 months in prison. Under Texas law, a person convicted of a felony is not eligible to run for state office after finishing a sentence. So that is a bit of a wrinkle.
The Texas Election Code does address this kind of situation. If a candidate who is “deceased, withdrawn, or ineligible” wins a race, the resulting vacancy gets filled in the “regular manner.” So congratulations to Lomick on her technically-winning not-quite-a-campaign.
Allison Campolo, the Tarrant County Democratic Party chair, told the Star-Telegram the party has been in contact with Lomick’s campaign and lawyers to figure out whether she can serve. Campolo said there is no timeline for when that determination will be made. Good to know the party with all the answers is on it.
Blaylock, for his part, is not rolling over. He said in an emailed statement that the results “do not settle who will serve this district” and that “serious questions” remain about Lomick’s eligibility. “We are pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure those questions are answered and that the people of HD 93 are represented by someone who meets the requirements to hold office,” Blaylock wrote. Hard to argue with that logic.
Lomick said Wednesday morning her campaign is “awaiting guidance from legal counsel” on how to proceed, but she was “appreciative of the outcome.” Sure, winning is nice. Serving is a different question entirely.
Abbott’s press office and Tarrant County Elections Administrator Clint Ludwick did not respond to questions about what the election code means for the outcome. So the residents of northeast Fort Worth, Haslet, Blue Mound, and northeast Saginaw are sitting tight while lawyers sort out whether their newly elected representative is actually allowed to represent them. The Democratic Party: making every election an adventure.
